[Barrington]

To be fair to Peace, the landscape in China changed after he sold to Lai from one which had been to invest heavily in foreign sports etc to one which didn't really, anymore. Peace wasn't to know that. Do I think he would be overly concerned that it happened? Probably not. But I don't think the sale was made with a total lack of care either.

[gazberg]

To be fair to Peace, the landscape in China changed after he sold to Lai from one which had been to invest heavily in foreign sports etc to one which didn't really, anymore. Peace wasn't to know that. Do I think he would be overly concerned that it happened? Probably not. But I don't think the sale was made with a total lack of care either.

The sale was made knowing Lai wouldn't invest though regardless of their landscape, which is fine. His total lack of care is not and has never been.

[WBArgo]

Despite Bruce looking like a poor manager - the blame has to lie with Lai. Literally every manager since his ownership has left here with a worse reputation (possibly Bilic is the only one who came out looking half decent)

Anyway, my point is that Lai has slowly made the club worse - on and off the pitch. We now have signings who are average championship players at best. As a result, this is our standard now and it will only get worse. A lot of westerners aren't clued up to Chinese culture etc. I will say this, the Chinese economy is in dire straits and has to build real estate to massage GDP figures. I believe one of Lai's main businesses is in real estate.

We have to get a new owner or this will keep happening until we're in league one. Perhaps relegation to league one would force a sale so it may even be a good thing. Until then, our standards keep slipping. We had the likes of Foster, Dawson, Yacob and Rondon and look at our squad now. As I said, even though Bruce isn't blameless, you only had to look at the bench yesterday and see some of our problems.

[skyclad99]

The sale was made knowing Lai wouldn't invest though regardless of their landscape, which is fine. His total lack of care is not and has never been.

Said from day one that there would be no change to the running of the club, so the change of landscape does not really affect the situation. Lai allegedly cannot move money out of China, however he had found a way to move WBA money into it😳

[kc56wba]

Maybe this will be  why Lai is borrowing money from the club.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-19/xi-s-strict-covid-zero-policy-in-china-pushes-wealthy-to-leave-country

Some 10,000 wealthy Chinese are looking to leave in the wake of punishing lockdowns and an economic slowdown.

[SmethDan]

Maybe this will be  why Lai is borrowing money from the club.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-19/xi-s-strict-covid-zero-policy-in-china-pushes-wealthy-to-leave-country

Some 10,000 wealthy Chinese are looking to leave in the wake of punishing lockdowns and an economic slowdown.

A brief extract from that piece.......

'“Can you imagine that I almost starved to death at the beginning of the lockdown in the most developed city in China?” said the 46-year-old, who recently sold much of his majority stake in two high-end Shanghai restaurants for 20 million yuan ($3 million) and has hired an immigration lawyer and wealth manager to help him move. “I am very sad, but it is time to leave.”

........ the bloke's a millionaire.

[skyclad99]

Also begs the question of how Lai is going to pay his loan(s) back at the end of the year if he used it to prop up his Chinese business.....

[kc56wba]

Also begs the question of how Lai is going to pay his loan(s) back at the end of the year if he used it to prop up his Chinese business.....

That is the worrying part Kev,

[kc56wba]

A brief extract from that piece.......

'“Can you imagine that I almost starved to death at the beginning of the lockdown in the most developed city in China?” said the 46-year-old, who recently sold much of his majority stake in two high-end Shanghai restaurants for 20 million yuan ($3 million) and has hired an immigration lawyer and wealth manager to help him move. “I am very sad, but it is time to leave.”

........ the bloke's a millionaire.

Dan another brief extract from the piece which is more relevant to our Chinese Owner.

Would-be emigrants also need to get savvier at moving money out of China. Citizens are only allowed to convert $50,000-worth of yuan into foreign currency each year. In the past, wealthier people have found ways around the rule, but some of those options are dwindling.

Just a year ago, viable options for shifting money out of China included using cryptocurrencies or making a private arrangement with an overseas counterpart looking to send yuan onshore. However, China's sweeping crackdown on crypto in the last few years has meant bans on almost all activities including exchanges, initial coin offerings, mining and transactions.

[gazberg]

WBA supporter on  talksport last night said he's had enough of the club since Lai took over. Given up his season ticket and the club is toxic. A fair statement

[overseas baggie]

Also begs the question of how Lai is going to pay his loan(s) back at the end of the year if he used it to prop up his Chinese business.....

Chinese residents are allowed to remit funds abroad to repay certain foreign debt.  One relevant aspect here is that Lai personally doesn’t seem to be the legal borrower, so it is impossible to know what rules apply.

[paulosull]

Is that true? Never seen it reported before?

he’s his little brother   

[Maresca Was A Baggie]

I truly cant see a happy ending for both the club or Lai. We are stuck with an owner that keeps borrowing from us, and with no likely way of paying the money back. An owner that wants 'out' but has zero chance of selling right now, unless he accepts literally peanuts. If the 'Blues' are being bought for around £35m, then I can't see us getting much more. There's no way Lai will take that hit. He's NEVER going to get his money back, but is praying for a miracle that we get promoted without spending any real money. Even then he wont get anywhere near his money back. The other side of the coin is we slowly stagnate once the parachute money is gone, at which point we will be as good as worthless to him. I really can't see how he gets out of this situation.

[Maresca Was A Baggie]

I can see us doing what Wolves did in the 80's, and dropping through the leagues, as we end up selling any of the decent assets to balance the books.

There, I said it.......

[paulosull]

I can see us doing what Wolves did in the 80's, and dropping through the leagues, as we end up selling any of the decent assets to balance the books.

There, I said it.......

just hope Dingle’s do us a favour and sell us player’s on cheap like we did back in the day.

[Albionfan1983]

I can see us doing what Wolves did in the 80's, and dropping through the leagues, as we end up selling any of the decent assets to balance the books.

There, I said it.......

That's overdramatic. I dont think this will happen. We will go back to what we was like between 93-00 and being around midtable

[overseas baggie]

The recklessness of the directors sanctioning loans to Lai when they are much needed by the company in order to carry out its commercial business is something that has not got the attention it commands.  The directors have acted in breach of their fiduciary duties and are - or should be - made accountable for it by the 12% minority shareholders, to whom the directors owe a clear fiduciary duty.

The directors right now should be demanding repayment of the loans, and if Lai (as a shareholder) tries to remove them as directors for doing so, then the directors must apply to the court for an injunction against removing them, because all they are doing is addressing their fiduciary duties.  The company could ultimately have the right to cancel/buyback Lai’s shares to the value of his unpaid loans if he does not repay them.

The 12% minority shareholders have a major role to play here to get that £12m back into the company.  Lai simply cannot do what he wants.  Company law protects minority shareholders.

Did Gourlay resign from the board because of this?

[SmethDan]

The recklessness of the directors sanctioning loans to Lai when they are much needed by the company in order to carry out its commercial business is something that has not got the attention it commands.  The directors have acted in breach of their fiduciary duties and are - or should be - made accountable for it by the 12% minority shareholders, to whom the directors owe a clear fiduciary duty.

The directors right now should be demanding repayment of the loans, and if Lai (as a shareholder) tries to remove them as directors for doing so, then the directors must apply to the court for an injunction against removing them, because all they are doing is addressing their fiduciary duties.  The company could ultimately have the right to cancel/buyback Lai’s shares to the value of his unpaid loans if he does not repay them.

The 12% minority shareholders have a major role to play here to get that £12m back into the company.  Lai simply cannot do what he wants.  Company law protects minority shareholders.

Did Gourlay resign from the board because of this?

S4A have already been in contact with the club and have issued a ream of questions to this effect. I think they're also exploring the possibility of claiming the expenses they've incurred taking legal advice thus far too.

[AlbionFan]

Graham Stephen @GrahamStephen (Real Estate Investor) has tweeted a thread about the Chinese economy, below is the first of 15 posts and worth a read

“The Chinese economy is experiencing a near-complete collapse.

Nearly half a million customers have lost their deposits as the banks lent indiscriminately to housing developers who are now facing cascading defaults.”

Here’s the story the Chinese Govt. doesn't want you to know 👇

[gazberg]

Graham Stephen @GrahamStephen (Real Estate Investor) has tweeted a thread about the Chinese economy, below is the first of 15 posts and worth a read

“The Chinese economy is experiencing a near-complete collapse.

Nearly half a million customers have lost their deposits as the banks lent indiscriminately to housing developers who are now facing cascading defaults.”

Here’s the story the Chinese Govt. doesn't want you to know 👇

I read that earlier. Their land/property prices are even more ridiculous than ours

[NJS]

The recklessness of the directors sanctioning loans to Lai when they are much needed by the company in order to carry out its commercial business is something that has not got the attention it commands.  The directors have acted in breach of their fiduciary duties and are - or should be - made accountable for it by the 12% minority shareholders, to whom the directors owe a clear fiduciary duty.

The directors right now should be demanding repayment of the loans, and if Lai (as a shareholder) tries to remove them as directors for doing so, then the directors must apply to the court for an injunction against removing them, because all they are doing is addressing their fiduciary duties.  The company could ultimately have the right to cancel/buyback Lai’s shares to the value of his unpaid loans if he does not repay them.

The 12% minority shareholders have a major role to play here to get that £12m back into the company.  Lai simply cannot do what he wants.  Company law protects minority shareholders.

Did Gourlay resign from the board because of this?

Nail - Head  <-  Hammer

[johnny Cash]

The recklessness of the directors sanctioning loans to Lai when they are much needed by the company in order to carry out its commercial business is something that has not got the attention it commands.  The directors have acted in breach of their fiduciary duties and are - or should be - made accountable for it by the 12% minority shareholders, to whom the directors owe a clear fiduciary duty.

The directors right now should be demanding repayment of the loans, and if Lai (as a shareholder) tries to remove them as directors for doing so, then the directors must apply to the court for an injunction against removing them, because all they are doing is addressing their fiduciary duties.  The company could ultimately have the right to cancel/buyback Lai’s shares to the value of his unpaid loans if he does not repay them.

The 12% minority shareholders have a major role to play here to get that £12m back into the company.  Lai simply cannot do what he wants.  Company law protects minority shareholders.

Did Gourlay resign from the board because of this?

The loan in the accounts suggested a valuation of around 85m in September 21 which has probably dropped furthered based on us not getting back up at the first time of asking.

This makes the £10-£12m lai owes worth around 15% or more of the company. If the company exchanged shares  for the money, how would that work and who would own them then? Not sure I understand. Would they need to be distributed amongst the S4A shareholders?

Can’t see the above happening mind. I expect at some point dividends will be used to pay it back, meaning the club lose out anyway.

[baggiejohn]

The loan in the accounts suggested a valuation of around 85m in September 21 which has probably dropped furthered based on us not getting back up at the first time of asking.

This makes the £10-£12m lai owes worth around 15% or more of the company. If the company exchanged shares  for the money, how would that work and who would own them then? Not sure I understand. Would they need to be distributed amongst the S4A shareholders?

Can’t see the above happening mind. I expect at some point dividends will be used to pay it back, meaning the club lose out anyway.

I don't get the dividend option either.

Without a cash injection, he would have to get the funds from the sale of assets.

[NJS]

Surely Lai would have the sell his shares on the open market to raise the money he owes the club.
Anyone [interested / mad enough to consider] investing could then buy those shares?

[Gilsey 56]

That's overdramatic. I dont think this will happen. We will go back to what we was like between 93-00 and being around midtable

We're already at that point, and I can see us getting a lot worse than this once the parachute payment as gone.